Etihad Cargo extends reach in Switzerland and the United States

Etihad Cargo, a division of UAE national airline, Etihad Airways, has enhanced its cargo services to and from Switzerland and the United States (US), by offering bellyhold cargo capacity on flights between Abu Dhabi and Zurich and Los Angeles respectively.

Etihad
Airways launched daily flights to both cities on 1 June, bringing the total number
of Swiss destinations flown direct from its Abu Dhabi hub to two, and raising to
four its network of direct US cities.

The
airline already flies from Abu Dhabi to Geneva in Switzerland and to Chicago,
New York and Washington D.C. in the US.

Etihad
Airways is deploying an Airbus A330-300 aircraft on the Abu Dhabi-Zurich route,
with services to Los Angeles initially being operated by an Airbus A340-500
aircraft, before switching to a Boeing 777-200LR aircraft from 15 July.

Kevin
Knight, Chief Strategy and Planning Officer at Etihad Airways, said: “Switzerland and the US are key markets for
us, and our new services to Zurich and Los Angeles provide shippers with
convenient, daily access to points all across our global network.

“In
total, we now offer just over 510 tonnes of weekly cargo capacity to and from Switzerland,
and 940 tonnes to and from the US, with unique access out of both countries to
the Gulf region, the Indian subcontinent market, Africa and many parts of Asia.

“Our
new cargo capability to Zurich and Los Angeles will appeal particularly to the
valuable goods, pharmaceutical, textile, machinery and fresh produce sectors,
and we look forward to working with our customers to facilitate more trade
across our network.”

The
increase in cargo capacity comes against a background of rising tonnage flown
by Etihad Cargo.

In 2013, Etihad Cargo
carried more than 6,700 tonnes of goods to and from Switzerland, up 21 per cent
on 2012, while tonnage to and from the US over the same period rose 54 per cent
to 36,000 tonnes.